Swiss architects Christ & Gantenbein placed first among tough competitors, such as the five Pritzker laureates (Peter Zumthor, Zaha Hadid, Rafael Moneo, Tadao Ando and Jean Nouvel) in the competition to design an extension for the Kunstmuseum. Thanks to a generous donation to the Canton of Basel-Stadt, the Basel Kunstmuseum was able to hold a competition to expand the museum to an adjacent lot. Christ & Gantenbein’s awarded design was defined as a “contemporary brother” of the 1930’s Kunstmuseum.